Grooby Productions
Encyclopedia
Grooby Productions is a company founded in 1996 and based in Honolulu, producing transgender
online adult entertainment. It established itself as one of the pioneer companies of online adult transgender entertainment with its website Shemale Yum, "the first transsexual pay site with original content".
The company owns a number of transsexual adult websites and produces its own DVD line as well as having other interests in forums, blogs and social networking within the transsexual niche genre including the Tranny Awards.
It has been called as "one of the most popular adult industry companies in the world" and according to AVN Business, the company "has established itself among the Net's foremost purveyors of transgender erotica".
. The most prominent of them was his transgender site Shemale Yum which became an Adult Verification site and eventually a pay site. The term "shemale" is considered pejorative by the transgender community but Grooby says that at the time the site was named he didn't know any better and the site became too well branded to change the name. Other websites followed including Ladyboy-Ladyboy in 1998 which was the first website to specifically go to Thailand
to photograph ladyboys and number of other sites featuring Brazilian, black and Hawai'ian transsexuals.
For a time Grooby operated the official websites for Joey Silvera
and Gia Darling
but due to creative differences these were dissolved amicably. In 2007 the company celebrated its 10 year anniversary, which included a party thrown by Allanah Starr
in New York City.
In 2008 Grooby opened the SheMaleJapan.com website to focus on Japanese "newhalf" (ニューハーフ) transsexual models. The concept for the website dated back to 2000 but it took eight years to find an appropriate producer in Japan. The site was formed in partnership with a Japanese producer, Hiro, and all video is shot in Japan. Models have included adult video (AV) stars Miki Mizuasa
and Hime Tsukino
. The site is in English but in mid-2009 almost half of the users of the site were from Japan.
By late 2008 the company hosted 12 websites and employed 7 full-time employees at its Honolulu, Hawaii headquarters and 25 people worldwide. Grooby Productions produces over 2000 photo/video sets a year for web only release and about 8 DVD releases. In Late 2009, the company relocated its offices to Los Angeles
, California
.
and inaugural Tranny Awards winner Chrissy. Buddy Wood has produced all his titles under Grooby Productions including AVN Nominated "Shemale Superstars", "Shemale Cuties Who Love It Up Their Booties" & "Shemale Email", starring transsexual porn actresses including Vicki Richter
, Danielle Foxxx
, Alexis Saige, Yasmin Lee & Khloe Hart. His latest release is "Hazel Does Hollywood" starring his prodigy and muse, Hazel Tucker
. Other notable producers include Frank, Louie Damazo and PK Vegas. The Commander, now semi-retired, was the first photographer to produce original content for the site.
The 2009 and 2010 awards were live events in North Hollywood. The 2010, awards were held in Feb 2011 with the main winners being Bailey-Jay Granger
, Domino Presley and Morgan Bailey's Bad Day with Lifetime Achivement Awards given to photographer Tony Vee and model/producer and industry veteran, Joanna Jet.
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
online adult entertainment. It established itself as one of the pioneer companies of online adult transgender entertainment with its website Shemale Yum, "the first transsexual pay site with original content".
The company owns a number of transsexual adult websites and produces its own DVD line as well as having other interests in forums, blogs and social networking within the transsexual niche genre including the Tranny Awards.
It has been called as "one of the most popular adult industry companies in the world" and according to AVN Business, the company "has established itself among the Net's foremost purveyors of transgender erotica".
Company history
Grooby traces its roots back to websites started up in 1996 in the UK by owner Steve Grooby, a film school graduate and former staff member at BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. The most prominent of them was his transgender site Shemale Yum which became an Adult Verification site and eventually a pay site. The term "shemale" is considered pejorative by the transgender community but Grooby says that at the time the site was named he didn't know any better and the site became too well branded to change the name. Other websites followed including Ladyboy-Ladyboy in 1998 which was the first website to specifically go to Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
to photograph ladyboys and number of other sites featuring Brazilian, black and Hawai'ian transsexuals.
For a time Grooby operated the official websites for Joey Silvera
Joey Silvera
Joey Silvera is an American pornographic actor and director.Joey Silvera has been involved in the American pornographic industry since the early 1970s. A native of upstate New York, he got his start performing in San Francisco in 1974, and went on to appear in more than 1,000 videos...
and Gia Darling
Gia Darling
Gia Darling is a transsexual adult film actress, director, and producer.-Entrepreneur:She owns and operates Gia Darling Entertainment. A self-described "homebody," she is content to spend quiet evenings at home reading a good book in the company of her dogs, Precious and Preston...
but due to creative differences these were dissolved amicably. In 2007 the company celebrated its 10 year anniversary, which included a party thrown by Allanah Starr
Allanah Starr
Allanah Starr is an American male-to-female transsexual pornographic actress, performance artist, model, and party promoter.She was born in Cuba and emigrated to the United States at five, with her family. Her father had been a political prisoner...
in New York City.
In 2008 Grooby opened the SheMaleJapan.com website to focus on Japanese "newhalf" (ニューハーフ) transsexual models. The concept for the website dated back to 2000 but it took eight years to find an appropriate producer in Japan. The site was formed in partnership with a Japanese producer, Hiro, and all video is shot in Japan. Models have included adult video (AV) stars Miki Mizuasa
Miki Mizuasa
AKA Miki Miasa is a transsexual Japanese adult video actress.-Life and career:Miki Mizuasa was born June 11, 1980 and has been active in adult video work in Japan since 2004. The box covers from several of her videos have her name as Miki Miasa and she did at least one video early in her career as...
and Hime Tsukino
Hime Tsukino
is an award-winning transsexual Japanese model and former adult video actress.-Life and career:Hime Tsukino was born in Osaka, Japan on March 25, 1985. Her stage name "Hime" translates to "princess" and derives from her childhood nickname...
. The site is in English but in mid-2009 almost half of the users of the site were from Japan.
By late 2008 the company hosted 12 websites and employed 7 full-time employees at its Honolulu, Hawaii headquarters and 25 people worldwide. Grooby Productions produces over 2000 photo/video sets a year for web only release and about 8 DVD releases. In Late 2009, the company relocated its offices to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Producers and directors
Grooby Productions works exclusively with a number of producers, photographers and directors specific to the transsexual niche. Tony Vee has been with the company for over 10 years and is one of the more celebrated photographers of transgender women, being the first to discover Allanah StarrAllanah Starr
Allanah Starr is an American male-to-female transsexual pornographic actress, performance artist, model, and party promoter.She was born in Cuba and emigrated to the United States at five, with her family. Her father had been a political prisoner...
and inaugural Tranny Awards winner Chrissy. Buddy Wood has produced all his titles under Grooby Productions including AVN Nominated "Shemale Superstars", "Shemale Cuties Who Love It Up Their Booties" & "Shemale Email", starring transsexual porn actresses including Vicki Richter
Vicki Richter
-Awards:*2005 AVN Award for Transsexual Performer of the Year*2006 AVN Award nomination for Transsexual Performer of the Year*2009 AVN Award nomination for Transsexual Performer of the Year*2009 The Tranny Awards Winner for Best Transsexual Performer...
, Danielle Foxxx
Danielle Foxxx
Danielle Foxxx is an American post-op transsexual pornographic film actress.- Early life :Danielle Foxxx was the only child of a Brazilian mother and a German-American Father. Her parents moved to the U.S. when she was 14 years old...
, Alexis Saige, Yasmin Lee & Khloe Hart. His latest release is "Hazel Does Hollywood" starring his prodigy and muse, Hazel Tucker
Hazel Tucker
-Awards:*2010 AVN Award nominee – Transsexual Performer of the Year*2011 AVN Award nominee – Transsexual Performer of the Year-Filmography:- External links :...
. Other notable producers include Frank, Louie Damazo and PK Vegas. The Commander, now semi-retired, was the first photographer to produce original content for the site.
Tranny Awards
In 2008, Grooby sponsored the Tranny Awards to correct "the lack of recognition that the transgender erotica industry gets". Some comic confusion arose when the California Transportation Foundation, a nonprofit associated with Caltrans, also decided to call its 20th annual awards ceremony to celebrate "transportation achievement" the TRANNY Awards. The first winner of The Tranny Awards Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Transsexual Adult Film Icon Meghan Chavalier.Market Opinion
In an email sent to a Grooby Marketing Affiliate, Steven said "It's a contracting market already and many people have got out of it recently because the time and costs involved haven't been rewarding enough to make it worthwhile." Alluding to the contraction of the transexual pornographic business model.The 2009 and 2010 awards were live events in North Hollywood. The 2010, awards were held in Feb 2011 with the main winners being Bailey-Jay Granger
Bailey-Jay Granger
Bailey-Jay Granger is a transsexual pornographic actress. She originally gained fame on 4chan in 2007 after a video emerged of her attending Otakon that same year. In 2011, she won the AVN Award for Transsexual Performer of the Year...
, Domino Presley and Morgan Bailey's Bad Day with Lifetime Achivement Awards given to photographer Tony Vee and model/producer and industry veteran, Joanna Jet.